The following is a selection of articles and radio broadcasts mainly from January 2005 to the present. To explore this topic in more depth and access earlier columns, please use the search box.

Articles

RNZ Radio 19 October 2017

NZ Herald 24 June 2017

Q&As: Some spend too much on fun, but some spend too little
- What to do if employer won't contribute to KiwiSaver
- 2 readers 'self-insure' for health insurance
- Reader glad he had check-up before dropping health insurance
- Another way to keep down health insurance costs
- How have you done in KiwiSaver?
- Win a seminar ticket

NZ Herald 26 November 2016

Q&As: Better to put savings towards mortgage than emergency fund
- How to weigh up KiwiSaver versus other saving
- Reader not stuck with KiwiSaver provider, but costly to move
- Reactions vary on discussion about which indexes to use

RNZ Radio 10 November 2016

NZ Herald 8 October 2016

Q&As: Perhaps we should celebrate a young man's spending splurge
- Don't get rid of student loan, pay down mortgage
- Dodgy share advice given to elderly couple
- Think of NZ Super as insurance
- Pension info there, but reader may have been distracted

NZ Herald 30 January 2016

Q&As: A different Auckland housing option: live on the water
- Reservations about young landlord's success
- 2 Q&As on whether Bonus Bonds are a good deal
- Worries about living in a leasehold property
- Have your say about advisers

Radio NZ 28 January 2016

NZ Herald 19 December 2015

Q&As: Are Bonus Bonds a good place for retirement savings?
- How safe are Bonus Bonds?
- Another KiwiSaver provider that allows regular withdrawals in retirement
- Happy reader moving into new home - thanks partly to this column

Radio NZ 19 November 2015

NZ Herald 17 October 2015

Q&As: How a woman who can't stop herself from spending could tie up an inheritance
- Extra house savings may be better outside KiwiSaver
- Saving in or out of KiwiSaver, and 55-year-old can still aim at home ownership
- More information about life expectancy
- Is ageism rearing its ugly head amongst pensioners?

NZ Herald 10 October 2015

Q&As: Calculators that measure your life expectancy more accurately
- Is it better to repay a mortgage or save?
- Don't overreact to worry that KiwiSaver retirement withdrawals could be limited
- Don't assume any interest rate trend will continue
- What would happen to members' savings if a KiwiSaver provider went bust

NZ Herald 29 August 2015

Q&As: Retired couple paying for rest home now wish they had spent more earlier
- Are NZ Super recipients beneficiaries?
- Reader thinks it's bad to eat into capital in retirement
- How couple might set up a first home account

NZ Herald 30 May 2015

Q&As: How should high-saving couple allow for emergency money?
- Will reader's children squeak through and get KiwiSaver kick-start?...
- ... And will another reader's partner?
- Some bank depositors' money at risk if bank gets into trouble
- Shouldn't borrowers be the ones who bail out a bank?

NZ Herald 25 January 2014

Q&As: Time for over-savers to spend on fun experiences - but still save some
- 65+ man's KiwiSaver plans overly optimistic
- All guardians must sign before children join KiwiSaver - which seems unfair
- How to judge a KiwiSaver fund's volatility using fund finder

NZ Herald 24 August 2013

Q&As: 64-year-old should get rid of mortgage - and join KiwiSaver if she's not already in
- Capital gains tax valuation idea could cause problems
- How changes to the KiwiSaver first home subsidy would work
- Overseas grandson can't join KiwiSaver

NZ Herald 6 April 2013

Q&As: You can be regarded as being in a de facto relationship even if you don't live together
- Accountant gives bad advice on joining KiwiSaver
- Paying extra off the mortgage versus saving outside KiwiSaver
- 2 Q&As about young man who is NZ tax resident but still pays interest on his student loan
- Reader's student loan idea might work - depending on family dynamics

Syndicated column 3 November 2012 - KiwiSaver's flexibility is a plus - up to a point

NZ Herald 15 September 2012

Q&As: The big question: does the doom merchant use banks?
- Why NZ banks are not beloved
- How couple close to retirement might be able to get a mortgage
- When saving beats repaying a mortgage
- Low-income reader lives a good life
- Housing NZ offers help to retired people too

NZ Herald 18 August 2012

Q&As: New research helps to answer whether couple in early 50s should worry about how much they are saving
- KiwiSaver funds won't be the next finance companies
- Should young man overseas repay his student loan?

Syndicated column 19 May 2012 - The older you are, the better the deal in KiwiSaver

Wake up and smell a more comfortable retirement, middle-agers! A survey released today shows that no-longer-youthful New Zealanders are less likely to be in KiwiSaver and more critical of the scheme. And yet arguably they get the best deal out of it.

Syndicated column 21 April 2012 - Why a reader advises his son against KiwiSaver - and why I disagree

Syndicated column 24 March 2012 - How to join the new debt cutting trend

We're all living through three "great transitions", said the keynote speaker at a recent conference. One transition is from West to East - with the growing emphasis on China and India, another is from analog to digital, and the third is from debt to saving. Let's look more at that third transition.

NZ Herald 17 March 2012

Q&As: No clear-cut answer on whether's it's better to slash debt or save for Christmas
- The best way to make use of the student loan repayment bonus
- Student loan holder living overseas is foolish to ignore his loan
- What's the point?

Syndicated column 28 January 2012 - Take action now to avoid bill blues next January

NZ Herald 15 October 2011

Q&As: Is it wise not to save because if you do you'll lose some government subsidies - and to spend the money on cars instead?
- Our chances of ending up in a rest home. And could there be insurance to cover the costs?
- Last week's "oily ragger" should do her own thing
- No bargain is quite so good when you consider how much you really had to earn to buy it
- Update on a reader's predictions of NZ's exchange rate and gold and silver prices

NZ Herald 28 May 2011

Q&As: Reader knows more about chemistry than savings schemes
- Yes, KiwiSaver does rely on government favours to be attractive, but that's okay
- Timing of the tax credits in the next KiwiSaver year
- Some KiwiSavers on total remuneration may want to take contributions holidays
- When to bring UK inheritance to New Zealand

Syndicated column 26 February 2011 - More reasons to get young into savings accounts

NZ Herald 26 February 2011

Q&As: Why 55-year-old Mum shouldn't give up on home ownership
- Important to save a little, even if you have a mortgage, to gain market knowledge over the years
- Banks "are just like car dealers"
- Will below-market share buyer lose it all in tax?

Syndicated column 12 February 2011 - So much for the "can't afford to save" excuse

Practically all New Zealanders can save. If they want to. In the wake of the release of the Savings Working Group (SWG) report on February 1, various people have been saying that many New Zealanders just can't afford to save. I don't buy it - or should I say save it.

NZ Herald 12 February 2011

Q&As: Here's an incentive to save for retirement
- Would increasing GST have to hurt those on lower incomes?
- Time to count a few blessings
- Lengthening the term of a mortgage can ease payments - but at a price
- Don't let tax drive your investment decisions

NZ Herald 5 February 2011

Q&As: Should we all panic over the Savings Working Group's dire forecasts?
- Do Bill English and Alan Bollard need to talk about how hard it is for New Zealanders to save?
- Why mailing nasties to companies that make low-priced share offers might not work

NZ Herald 27 November 2010

NZ Herald 2 October 2010

Q&As: KiwiSaver is not guaranteed by the government - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't join
Is it wise to have your KiwiSaver account with your bank?
Banks said to be "stealing" KiwiSaver members from other providers
Does a reader who is speedily repaying her mortgage need a savings account?

Syndicated column 25 September 2010 - Are we bad savers, or was it a bad survey?

A recent report on New Zealanders' savings habits annoyed me - and not because it starts by saying that the Savings Working Group, of which I'm a member, "is likely to face a tough challenge". What got my goat was its misleading conclusion.

NZ Herald 4 September 2010

Q&As: Looking after the pennies is more rewarding than we realised
Three Q&As on readers' suggestions on how a couple can better manage their money - including ideas on mortgages and software
Is it worthwhile trying to time a home purchase to make the most of market movements? - plus KiwiSaver first home assistance details

Syndicated column 5 June 2010 - Plans or no plans? Readers differ

Syndicated column 22 May 2010 - Confession time about retirement plans and goals

I'm going to commit sacrilege here. But it's not as if I haven't thought long and hard about it. So okay, deep breath, here we go: Contrary to what many will tell you, it's quite possible to be financially together and not have a detailed written plan on how to fund your retirement - or even a retirement savings goal.

NZ Herald 12 December 2009

NZ Herald March 7 2009

Q&As: Don't try to time markets. Stick with your regular retirement savings, although you may want to modify where you save.
Teen's worries are unfounded about how Dad's income would affect KiwiSaver first home subsidy - but other subsidy issues still undecided.
Tax-wise, it's better to borrow for taxable activities than to buy a family home.
Plus: Clarification on the taxation of interest on loans between family members.

Syndicated column September 2 2007: Is saving always good?

NZ Herald April 26 2008

Q&As: KiwiSaver the last straw for employer of "whinging, incompetent" New Zealanders
Reserve Bank offers some reassurance for reader worried that NZ banks could be caught up in their foreign parent's woes ...
.... But if you're still worried, consider the safest investments of all, government securities.

NZ Herald February 9 2008

Q&As: Calculator tells reader to stop saving and live it up a bit.
Reader who finds KiwiSaver nauseating has a scary list of things that could go wrong....
...But another one applauds KiwiSaver, while sitting on the home ownership sidelines.

NZ Herald August 18 2007

Q&As: Man lives in NZ but his savings are in the US. When should he bring the money here, in light of the dollar's fluctuations?
3 Q&As on when the KiwiSaver tax credit begins - depending on when you join and/or start making contributions.
More winners in our giveaway of "KiwiSaver: How to make it work for you".

NZ Herald June 16 2007

Q&As: A big fan of property investing scares me with his lack of knowledge.
I'm accused of hypocrisy and bias.
In praise of boring old index funds and learning about them.
KiwiSaver: Will the kick-start be around for a while? What happens when an employee gets a lump sum? A clarification about access to the money in bankruptcy.

NZ Herald May 26 2007

Q&As: The inter-generation battle rages on in six Q&As, and we also get several readers' ideas on how Gen Xers can cope with high house prices.
Succinct advice from a reader's Dad who suffered in the Depression.

Holm Truths Autumn 2007

Syndicated column April 28 2007: Think again about those KiwiSaver tax breaks

Many readers were no doubt pleased to hear of Winston Peters' recent hints that the May 17 Budget will include tax breaks in the KiwiSaver retirement savings scheme. But only some will benefit - and it will be at the expense of others, and the country as a whole.

NZ Herald July 29 2006

Syndicated column July 18 2006: Owning your home not always the best option

Most New Zealanders grow up expecting to own their own home, but soaring house prices have made it harder for people to get into the market. Does that matter? Is home ownership all it's cracked up to be?

NZ Herald March 19 2005

Syndicated column February 8 2005: Higher returns don't matter for the short term - they need time to work their magic.

There's more than one reason behind the old investment message that goes like this: If you need your money in just a few years invest your savings conservatively, but if you have a longer horizon take more risk.